The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the UnicornReview

The first Tintin comic strip hit newsstands back in 1929, and yet while the books have been capturing the hearts and minds of children the world over ever since - selling more than 350m copies in the process - the boyish reporter has yet to grace the silver screen. Until now that is.

Thanks to the combined clout of Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, Herge's most famous character is spectacularly brought to life using state-of-the-art computer-generated effects, and in three-dimensions no less.

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Yet while the film is undoubtedly easy-on-the-eye - director Spielberg bringing the comic-strip panels to life in intricate fashion - the film nevertheless has problems in terms of pacing and characterisation, making this a far-from perfect celluloid adaptation.

The visuals take the breath away from the outset however, the film commencing with stylish opening credits that hark back to Spielberg's own Catch Me If You Can, with character silhouettes acting out vignettes to a toe-tapping John Williams score.

We're then transported to a Brussels market where we meet be-quiffed, baby-faced reporter Tintin, voiced by Jamie Bell and brought to life by WETA Digital using image-based facial performance capture. This isn't the dead-eyed CG of The Polar Express and Beowulf however, but rather a far more convincing approximation of the human face, just a few steps away from being photo-real.

Together with his trusty canine sidekick Snowy, Tintin trawls the market in search of intrigue, which comes in the shape of a beautiful model ship that once purchased by the pair, attracts unwanted attention of the deadly kind.

Tintin and Snowy in action.

For hidden within the vessel is a scroll that sets the dynamic duo on a globetrotting adventure that combines three Tintin books - The Secret of the Unicorn, The Crab With the Golden Claws and Red Rackham's Treasure - and revolves around a riddle, a curse, a shipwreck and a bounty of buried treasure.

It also enables the filmmakers to create a collection of jaw-dropping action set-pieces in a series of glamorous locales, including the Saharan desert and the imaginary Moroccan city of Bagghar. Stand-outs include a stunning battle on the high seas which is chock-full of clever match cuts and transitions to blend past and present, and an amazing boat/bike/tank chase that unfolds in one incredible continuous take.

But the sheer number and length of these sequences means that their impact lessens as proceedings advance, the film building towards less a crescendo and more an anti-climax.

They prove to be a treasure trove of inside jokes however, with the filmmakers paying homage to everything from North by Northwest and Peter Pan to Jaws. But it's another Spielberg classic - Indiana Jones - that gets most obviously and frequently referenced, with Tintin pulling off the kind of action moves that would make the archaeologist adventurer proud.